Trump Goes All In On "Birther" Issue

Donald Trump released his birth certificate today. Upon
doing so, he
demanded that President Obama do the same.

“Now, this guy either has a birth certificate or he doesn’t,”
Trump said in an interview with Fox News. “And I didn't think
this was such a big deal, but I will tell you, it’s turning out
to be a very big deal because people now are calling me from all
over saying, please don't give up on this issue....I’m starting
to wonder myself whether or not [Obama]
was born in this country."

The politics of this are pretty straightforward. Roughly
40%
of all Republicans either do not believe or have doubts that
President Obama was born in the United States. By "validating"
these suspicions, Trump is hoping to bump up his standing in GOP
presidential polls in key early states like Iowa and New
Hampshire. Championing the "birther" movement is a low-cost
ticket to double-digit poll ratings, he reasons.

But it's not without risk. The downside, obviously, is that
it makes Mr. Trump appear deranged.